I was overjoyed to read your editorial in the May 27 issue concerning our Baptist name [Herald, May 27]. I have been playing that same tune for many years and it is nice to hear it from someone else.
The final straw for me has been Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., as you mentioned in your piece. Disrupting funerals of our service men and women with signs and shouts of “Thank God for dead soldiers” and using young children as part of these horrific acts of cruelty to the families is unconscionable. In the eyes of the public, we Virginia Baptists — and all other Baptists — are a part of that mentality.
But though I am in full agreement in identifying the problem, I have no solution. I’ve really been concentrating about what name we might choose — one which would reflect who we are, yet not be confused with other Christian groups or churches. I came up with Christian Life Church or simply Christ’s Church or The Shepherd’s Church but am not too pleased with any of them. Of course part of that is because they sound strange to our ear: my church would become Highland Christian Life Church, which is a mouthful.
I hope your readers will start giving this idea of a new name some serious thought and write in with their suggestions. If we don’t start working on it, things will not change.
How about Covenant Church or Trinity Church, replacing the word Baptist? Your idea of Global Baptists will not do, because it will still be identified with all the other “Baptist” churches, including Wesboro Baptist in Topeka.
Your other consideration was to change the image of our Baptist name, but I do not see how we can do that as long as we have Fred Phelps Sr. (the pastor of Westboro) and others of his ilk, spouting hatred as a Baptist. Certainly as Virginia Baptists we can focus on loving God and each other, but we have no voice in Southern Baptist Convention public statements.
Thank you for letting me vent. It helps but does not solve our problem.
Peggy Sawyers, Monterey, Va.